In the past few weeks I’ve noticed lots more signs that HTML5 is starting to gather more wind in its sails. And although the HTML5 specification has advanced to the Last Call stage (on 4/23/2012) the point where things are mostly settled, but still subject to a more rounds of input and suggestions, there will be a second Last Call soon (and possibly more, depending on what kinds of issues come up in need of discussion and resolution).
Only then will the specifications advance to the Recommendation track. And that itself can take two years, sometimes longer, to complete. Nevertheless, things are getting closer and I’m happy to observe that the W3C’s original guesstimates that HTML5 might not be “done” until 2020 or later now seem to have been overly pessimistic. Thank goodness!
Title block from latest W3C Working Draft Specification for HTML5
For more information on what’s up with HTML 5, take a look at the following:
- Blog HTML5: Are We There Yet?
- W3C.org HTML5 Progress Page
- W3C.org HTML Working Group Changes
- Working group publishes 10 updated working drafts, including
- the HTML5 specification
- HTML5: Edition for Web Authors
- HTML5 differences from HTML4
- HTML+RDFa 1.1
- HTML Microdata
- HTML Canvas 2D Context
- HTML5: Techniques for providing useful text alternatives
- Polyglot Markup: HTML-Compatible XHTML Documents
- HTML to Platform Accessibility APIs Implementation Guide
- HTML: The Markup Language
There’s also been lots of activity outside the W3C umbrella, too. Yesterday, Tech Republic released a story entitled “10 new HTML5 tags you need to know about.” Windows 8’s new Metro interface makes extensive use of HTML5; search TechNet for “HTML 5” (MS likes a space between HTML and 5 when it names this markup language) and you’ll get hundreds of hits with news, articles, and how-tos, including:
- HTML 5: how to use the canvas
- Creating an HTML 5 Game…
- Alice Pang, Queen of HTML 5, shows you how to cheat at HTML 5
- HTML 5 and CSS Six Complete Lessons
Even the latest edition of the MSDN Flash Newsletter (dated 5/14/2012) kicks of with two HTML5 stories as its top leads “Unleash the Power of HTML5 Canvas for Gaming” and “Using HTML5 to Create Mobile Experiences.” And that’s just the beginning. There’s more content hopping and popping on HTML 5 than you can shake a stick at. MS is even readying a Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) exam for release that will cover HTML 5 development and design topics (it should be ready by this fall). We are moving into an HTML 5 world, and so far, that world appears to be shaping up nicely.
Of course that means the next edition of HTML, XHTML, and CSS For Dummies will be turning its focus almost entirely toward HTML 5 as well. We wanted to switch over for the last (seventh) edition, but the specifications simply weren’t yet far enough along. With the advent of recommended specification drafts likely before the end of 2012 they way things look now, it’s almost a certainty that the next edition of the book will emphasize this newest version, while covering HTML 4 mostly inasmuch as it persists in HTML 5, with the briefest of mentions only for obsolete and deprecated markup. Stay tuned!